The Little Geeni

You just cannot predict when something is going to go wrong with your computer or one of the files you have stored there, and when it does happen, any information you have stored is going to be lost, usually forever. It is always recommended that computer data backup files be kept separately where it can be recouped in event of loss.

Security for your computer data backup information may not always imply security from theft or intrusion. It may mean to protect it from similar damage that has affected your main file system. If you store backup files on the same computer hard drive as the original files, if something happens to the hard drive, your backup files will be lost as well.

Although you may believe that since you have not had a problem with your computer data backup is a waste of time. Just like wearing your seat belt. If you have never had a car accident, you probably still wear it just in case. There are numerous ways the information on your computer can be lost or corrupted, including system failure, and when that happens your life, as you know it, is lost.

What Files Need Backed Up And Where

Generally speaking, you should look at the information stored on your computer and determine which files cannot be recreated if destroyed or no longer accessible. The files you mark for computer data backup may include financial information, family photographs, music you bought and downloaded as well personal projects and email address books.

Whether you decided to use disks, CDs or another form of external device for computer data backup is not really important, rather making sure you will have the means to recover the files from that source available later on, is. Looking back a few shorts years, every computer has at least one drive for three and half inch floppy disks. Not anymore. If you backed up your information on your old computer with these disks and your new computer does not have that drive installed, your filed are still inaccessible.

You may also consider looking for online computer data backup services, where using a secure file transfer protocol (FTP) site, your files, which may include the entire content of your hard drive, can be transferred and securely stored for easy retrieval. Saving your files locally may work, but in event of a disaster could still be lost along with everything else.

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Introduction

The creation and maintenance of a network is a serious matter that really goes a long way towards making or breaking the infrastructure of a business. It is impossible to be successful in the business world today without the help of some form of technology and because of that many companies are looking to expand their computer networks across the board. Regardless of whether these people use wired or wireless access in their networks (or both), there are some principles that end up remaining the same regardless of what network is being used. One of those principles has to do with the methods that are used in order to keep a network secure. This is not a subject that can be completely covered in just a few hundred words, but there are three principles that can definitely get you off to a flying start.

Strategy #1

The first strategy in keeping a network secure is to hire someone that actually knows what they’re doing in this regard. The way that truly successful people that start gigantic corporations are able to keep things going is that they are smart enough to hire people that have the ability to get the job done in a quick and efficient manner. This process of delegating or outsourcing work is one that you might want to consider. People that are completely trained in all facets of Computer Science are frequently in school for over a decade and even people that just specialize in network administration are in school for at least a year. This is highly specialized education and exchanging money for the wisdom and experience of someone that is a professional is definitely something to consider.

Strategy #2

Of course, not all people have the ability financially to be able to outsource a job and because of that people sometimes have to learn these things on their own. If you know absolutely nothing about keeping a network secure, the best thing you can do to get yourself started is to make sure that everything on your network is password protected. Make sure that the login is password protected and also make sure that retrieval of any sensitive information or data is also password protected. This process of layering passwords is known as redundant password protection and it is a good way for companies to deal with minor network security threats.

Strategy #3

Finally, this strategy is more common sense than anything else, but make sure that you regularly upgrade the components of your network. As technological advances increase in their frequency and more systems become obsolete, your network components are going to be left in the dust and become large security risks if they are not upgraded regularly. If you lack the funds for an all out upgrade on a regular basis, then cycle it through the different parts of your network based on priority so that every six years or so you have upgraded each component once. Doing this will allow you to keep with the times and eliminate any obvious security risks.

Computer Security Network, Secure, Strategies

Wireless networks are great and allow us to set up networks quickly, easily and without the hassle of physically running cables etc.

However wireless networks need to be secure from outside / unauthorised users otherwise people can use your network for their own malicious intentions. An example of this is people using your wireless connection to connect to the internet and download illegal content. As it is your internet connection it is your responsibility.

So how do you secure your wireless network?

Well there are several things you can do so here are some basic security steps:

TURN OFF SSID Broadcasting – Once you have all your required computers (wireless clients / devices) on your network, TURN OFF SSID broadcasting so that no one can see your wireless network.
Change the name of your SSID from default to something else. For example a SSID named Netgear easily identifies your network and its hardware.
Change default router username and passwords. Most routers have the same, default admin username and password. So all an intruder has to do is login to your router using the defaults and then lock you out.
Use MAC address filtering – set which devices can connect to your wireless network by their MAC address. Use ipconfig / all to identify your MAC address.
Use IP filtering or IP address reservations so that only those IP’s can access the network.
Use Port filtering / blocking to block ports you do not need open.
Use authentication – either PSK or EAP – DO NOT LEAVE AUTHENTICATION OPEN.
Use encryption to protect your data. WEP and WPA are 2 types of encryption however WPA is recommended.
Set logon hours so that people cannot access your network out of hours.
Use a wireless network analyser such as Netstumbler (free) to test your network.

Using the above wireless network security steps will help protect your wireless network from unauthorised use and prying eyes.

Computer Security Network, Secure, Wireless

Nowadays, just about all major businesses and corporations are powered by one or more IT networks and continuously serves as the life and blood of day to day business operations. Each of the units or nodes of the network are powered by computers and individuals that work together in their dedicated positions and fulfil their roles assigned. IT networks are so delicate since any disturbance in the network can either hinder or slow down the overall network performance to a certain degree. Not only must the network administrators do their jobs in preventing these issues from happening, but they must also evaluate how secure their IT networks are.

What about your network?

Have you ever considered doing a security audit for your network?

Just because your network has never bumped into any problems doesn’t mean that the security is at its maximum. Therefore it is important to test your computer for any network vulnerabilities and stay updated with the current trends to see if new network vulnerabilities are discovered that may pose a threat to your network one day.

There will always be people that are up to no good in developing hacking programs and viruses that are specifically meant to disrupt or harm networks directly. These methods may involve data theft, data corruption, or a combination of the two and for the average business this can be a serious threat to the wellbeing of the network and business.

Security software and services are one of the allies of these networks that aim to hinder these rogue software and stay one step ahead of the threats to prevent IT networks from suffering at all. The payload of these vulnerabilities can sometimes be irreversible like if data is stolen so preventative measures must be forced, especially in businesses that have highly sensitive data in their servers.

Resorting to the various security software and services shouldn’t be the only option, as they may not have defence to the newest threats out there right away. By making a habit to do your own network security maintenances, you can keep these new threats at bay and wait for your network security programs to update.

Common things to protect are sensitive files and entry web pages of the network. Passwords are a good first line defence to restrict access to the individuals within the network who know the password. Making the password complicated can reduce the risks of brute force attacks – a common method in breaking through password protected areas. Using the latest system software from operating system to other programs that have network access can also reduce the chances of a security breech since patches aim to plug in security holes.

Always take some time off to check your networks security. If you have no knowledge on how to do it, you can always ask a skilled hacker to try and break into your network. Former hackers are the best people to consult as these people dedicate themselves to helping personnel and using their previous hacking to improve the security of networks. This will allow your network to run smoothly without fear of a network crisis.

Computer Security Network, Secure

1. Change the default passwords as most network devices have a pre-configured default password and these are easily found online.

2. Install a firewall directly onto your wireless devices (a host-based firewall). Attackers who directly intercept your wireless network may be able to by-pass your network firewall and so this does not offer sufficient protection.

3. Restrict access — only allow authorised users to access your network. Each piece of hardware connected to a network has a MAC (media access control) address. Restrict or allow access to your network by filtering MAC addresses. The MAC address is a unique identifier for networking hardware such as wireless network adapters. A hacker can capture details about a MAC address from your network and pretend to be that device to connect to your network. MAC filtering will still protect you from majority of the hackers. Find the MAC address for your network adapters on your devices by following these steps:

1. Go to Start > Run

2. Type command and press [Enter]

3. Type ipconfig /all in the command prompt window and press [Enter]

4. You can view the physical access address in the information displayed.

4. Check the user documentation to get specific information about the MAC Filtering process if you have any more queries.

5. Encrypt the data on your network. Encrypting the data would prevent anyone who might somehow be able to access your network from viewing your data.

6. Protect your SSID (Service Set Identifier — An SSID is the name of a WLAN). The SSID on wireless clients can be set either manually, by entering the SSID into the client network settings, or automatically, by leaving the SSID unspecified or blank. A network administrator often uses a public SSID that is set on the access point and broadcast to all wireless devices in range. You can disable the automatic SSID broadcast feature to improve network security.

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Computer Security Networks, Secure, Tips, Wireless

I would imagine that the thought of setting up a home network is probably quite scary for the average home computer user.

It isn’t too difficult though as the companies that sell routers have been listening to their customers and have made the process as simple as possible.

That, however, has had a negative impact on network security.

Remember that large corporations still have major issues when it comes to the security of their networks – hackers still get in and deface websites, steal information, etc, etc.

What chance, then, does the guy in the street stand with his new simplified router, trying to keep the bad guys out of his home network?

Actually, he stands a good chance, as long as he follows some basic rules -

Secure Passwords

My first tip is an obvious one – always use a secure password.

This can be said for everything you do online, from using social networking sites to internet banking to your own router.

When you buy a new router it comes with a password by default.

You should realise, however, that this password is most likely the same for every single router that the company sells – if you don’t change it then a hacker will be able to guess it in seconds.

When you set your router up follow the instructions that come with it to change your password immediately.

Choose a password that is hard to guess, such as a long string of random numbers, letters and symbols.

Otherwise you may just find that you no longer control your router and that a hacker does.

Encryption

Once you have a secure password installed you will want to choose the correct type of encryption for your network.

The most common encryption type, and one you may well have heard of, is WPA.

WPA encryption offers a high level of security and has proven difficult for hackers to break through.

It can be got around but doing so isn’t easy and so it should deter the casual attacker with ease.

If you have a newer router you can even take a step up and run with the more secure WPAII.

Active Firewall

My third and final tip for today is to ensure that you have activated the router’s own firewall.

A firewall is designed to block out intruders who may try to access your home network via the internet.

If you configure your router correctly then it will only allow authorised traffic to access your network.

It would also be a good idea to make sure that you have activated any software firewall that you may have as well in order to enhance your computer’s protection.

There are, of course, more steps you can take to secure your network but if you follow the above tips you’ll be going a long way towards keeping your home network secure.

Computer Security Home, Network, Secure

You can strengthen and enhance your company’s internal and perimeter network security by getting the services of a certified Checkpoint engineer. Security vulnerabilities of private and public networks are real concerns that should be addressed decisively.

Without a Checkpoint engineer that could arrest vulnerabilities, your company could face serious network losses. The database and sensitive information stored on your company’s server can also be exposed to hacking. By hiring a Checkpoint engineer, loopholes in your VPN, private networks, and security gateways, could be prevented effectively.

The Benefits of Getting a Certified Checkpoint Engineer

A Checkpoint engineer will be able to implement solutions and manage your company’s network security against hundreds of dynamic application level attacks. A Checkpoint engineer has the expertise in the following checkpoint technologies:

VPN-1 VE
Firewall / VPN
Unified Threat Management
Remote Access
Intrusion Detection & Prevention
Endpoint Security

A Checkpoint Engineer Can Safeguard Your Gateway

A Checkpoint engineer would be able to plug your network against intrusions by implementing perimeter gateway security solutions such as IPS-1 and SmartDefense. Check Point intrusion prevention solutions provide precise, real-time attack mitigation, granular forensic analysis and flexible deployment options. Check Point intrusion prevention solutions are delivered as dedicated IPS appliances or software, and as intrusion prevention that is integrated into Check Point security gateways.
Intrusive traffic will try to merge with legitimate traffic by hiding behind spoofing methods that can bypass network passwords and security checkpoint. A Checkpoint engineer can secure the network gateway against such traffic thus preventing intrusion at the point of entry by using SmartDefense. This maintains the most current preemptive security for the Check Point security infrastructure. To help defenses stay continuously ahead of today’s constantly evolving threat landscape, SmartDefense Services provide ongoing and real-time updates and configuration advice for defenses and security policies found in SmartDefense.

Firewalling Against Denial of Service Attacks

Another important function of a Checkpoint engineer is to establish a firewall solution that will prevent denial of service attacks.

Denial of service is a serious problem that could crash your network resulting to extended outages and network downtimes. Your clients and legitimate users will not be able to access the network if it is experiencing denial of service attacks.

A Checkpoint engineer can deploy a proactive double firewalling solution that screens unidentified data signatures even before it reaches your network gateway. In this way, your network will not experience downtimes caused by such attacks.

Hire a Checkpoint Engineer to Prevent Phishing Operations

Probably the most compelling reason why you need to get a Checkpoint engineer is to prevent information theft. Hackers are always on the look out for vulnerable networks to phish for usernames and passwords. Phishing these information and data would enable hackers to mine your server of important personal records such as credit card numbers, customer list, and trade secrets. ZoneAlarm ForceField is the first virtualized, on-demand browser security solution to enable consumers to bank and shop online, or surf dangerous areas of the Internet without fear or limitation. Built from the ground-up specifically to fight the emerging classes of browser-based Web threats, ForceField also erases all personal information after a Web browsing session to further protect consumer privacy online. Features include browser virtualization, powerful anti-phishing technology, ZoneAlarm’s Spy Site Blocker (also found in the award-winning ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite) and additional dangerous download defenses.

Without a Checkpoint engineer that will implement multiple protocol security nets within you network, the company’s servers and client applications would become easy targets for Phishing operations. Your company’s reputation will suffer and you can lose customers if your network will not get proper security attention from a certified Checkpoint engineer.

Where to Find a Reliable Checkpoint Engineer?

You can simply post a wanted ad if you want a Checkpoint engineer for your company. However, this is tedious and you have no guarantee that applicants really have enough experience to implement complicated security solutions.

To make your life easier, you can check some of the best online security consultants and B2B security websites. These companies can offer superior network security services. They usually have an onboard certified Checkpoint engineer and experts that can help your network ward off malicious attacks.

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In a poll of 455 IT executives in US SMBs, 42% said their networks were not secure even though 96% and 93% of respondents respectively said they had anti-virus and a firewall installed. 80% said they also used spam filtering. This may indicate that small and medium sized businesses are starting to doubt the effectiveness of traditional perimeter security products in protecting them from other security threats, including data leakage and network breaches.

Conducted by eMediaUSA on behalf of GFI Software, an international developer of network security, content security and messaging software, 39% of respondents to the survey said email viruses are the greatest risk to network security, followed by internet downloads (22%) and hacker attempts (10%). Only 7% considered insider attacks and the threat of portable storage devices – such as USB sticks, CDs, floppies, smartphones, MP3 players, handhelds, iPods, digital cameras – to be the greatest risk.

The survey also reveals that 32% of the US companies surveyed had suffered a breach over the past 12 months mainly due to a virus attack (69%), followed by infected internet downloads (30%) and loss of hardware, such as laptops (24%). Only 2% reported a breach involving some form of fraud or identity threat.

Commenting on the results, Andre Muscat, GFI’s Director of Engineering, said: “Email viruses top the ‘greatest threat to network security’ list and this does not come as a surprise. It is one of the easier attack routes and this is confirmed by those respondents who reported a breach. While companies are aware of, and are focused on, tackling viruses and malware, they appear to be giving sparse attention to other equally dangerous threats such as data theft and leakage from endpoints such as connected USB sticks, iPods and PDAs on the network.”

According to the survey, only 19% of the respondents said they had deployed an endpoint security solution on their network. This indicates that few companies may consider the fact that an employee’s iPod or USB stick can be a threat and used to copy data from the network or else install unauthorized software or upload viruses and malware.

“There are other issues as well. How many companies are aware of vulnerabilities on their network that are not addressed through Microsoft’s regular updates? At the end of the day, it boils down to education – from the top of the organization down to the users – Our survey shows that just under half of the respondents believe security could improve if employees were more aware of security issues, while 25% believe that management should also have a better understanding of security matters,” Mr. Muscat added.

On a daily basis, IT executives are most concerned with downtime (71%) while more than half of the respondents said daily user support was a concern. One in five said compliance was a daily concern; while a mere 3% indicated eDiscovery to be a daily issue.

When it comes to choosing the type of security measure to adopt, just under 90% said they used a software solution with 55% opting for a combination of software, appliances and hosted services.

The full survey can be found at: http://www.gfi.com/documents/rv/smbsurvey.pdf

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Network security is a method of preventing your computer network from the unauthorized user access, email spoofing, Trojan horses, denial of service, hacking, viruses, spyware and intruders etc. There are different securities mechanisms are being employed to protect the network. If a hacker gets control of your computer or network, he can send viruses or steal your company’s confidential data. Similarly if any computer in your network is infected with the viruses or spyware, all other computers will also be infected if no proper security system has been implemented. Securing a network is most important job description of the network administrators, security specialists, network engineers and IT managers. You can secure your computer network by the following security methods.

Network Security Tips

Use Virus Protection Software

Don’t open unknown email attachments

Use regular backup of your critical data

Make boot disk

Use Firewall program

Authenticate users

Implement Security Policy in your network

Keep an inventory of your software and hardware and make a list of all the devices.

SCAN TCP/UDP services

Don’t provide more rights to the system resources than necessary.

Perform the network security testing and find the holes and fix them.

Place your server at very safe place.

Prepare an Assistant Network Administrator and train him/her about all the security related matters so that he/she can control the network in your absence.

Monitor the user’s activities on the internet and block all the unwanted websites, web applications which have security risks.

If you have wireless network then the following methods are very helpful in securing your wireless network.

Wireless Network Security

SSID (Service Set Identifier) –

WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access)

WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)

TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol)

MAC Addressing (Media Access Control)

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)

Encryption

Computer Security Network, Secure

If you’re connected to the Internet (especially with an “always on” connection such as cable or DSL), you’re at risk for intrusion from hackers or with infection from a virus or spyware. This can happen without your knowledge. You can be browsing, logging on and off various web sites, etc., and be compromised. However, you can protect yourself from this type of intrusion by following a few simple steps.

1.. Use a firewall to block all incoming connections from the Internet to services that should not be publicly available. By default, you should deny all incoming connections and only allow services you explicitly want to offer to the outside world.

2.. Enforce a password policy. Complex passwords make it difficult to crack password files on compromised computers. This helps to prevent or limit damage when a computer is compromised.
3.. Ensure that programs and users of the computer use the lowest level of privileges necessary to complete a task. When prompted for a root or UAC password, ensure that the program asking for administration-level access is a legitimate application.

4.. Disable AutoPlay to prevent the automatic launching of executable files on network and removable drives, and disconnect the drives when not required. If write access is not required, enable read-only mode if the option is available.

5.. Turn off file sharing if not needed. If file sharing is required, use ACLs and password protection to limit access. Disable anonymous access to shared folders. Grant access only to user accounts with strong passwords to folders that must be shared.

6.. Turn off and remove unnecessary services. By default, many operating systems install auxiliary services that are not critical. These services are avenues of attack. If they are removed, threats have less avenues of attack.

7.. If a threat exploits one or more network services, disable, or block access to, those services until a patch is applied.

8.. Configure your email server to block or remove email that contains file attachments that are commonly used to spread threats, such as .vbs, .bat, .exe, .pif and .scr files.

9.. Isolate compromised computers quickly to prevent threats from spreading further. Perform a forensic analysis and restore the computers using trusted media.

10.. Train employees not to open attachments unless they are expecting them. Also, do not execute software that is downloaded from the Internet unless it has been scanned for viruses. Simply visiting a compromised Web site can cause infection if certain browser vulnerabilities are not patched.

When it comes to doing business online, security is a two-way street. Safe online transactions demand smart behavior on the part of consumers and proactive security policies and procedures on the part of Web sites.

Businesses that sell goods or services online also have a responsibility to keep their transactions secure and private. And the more sites know about current e-commerce security threats, the better job they can do at protecting their transactions. Your browser should comply with industry security standards, such as SSL Certificate. SSL(Secure Socket Layer) is a security Protocol.

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